In contrast, I was left in peace whenever I was brought to the Decimuses.
If any of the other Decimus family members were wary around me, Brigid scolded them and insisted I was always welcome. I once even watched from Limbo as a young Baelfire lost his temper and got in a fistfight with one of his visiting cousins for calling me a leech.
“Are they hurting?” Maven asks quietly.
I blink, drawn out of my thoughts and into her orbit once again. “Pardon, love?”
She traces some of my markings, and I realize they’ve lit up. But as it has been ever since we bonded, I barely feel the same painful tugging and aching of my curse calling me to action. I can sense that Limbo is in disarray in distant places, but the agony is so dulled that I can tune it out far easier.
I take Maven’s hand, kissing her fingertips.
How could I feel anything but pleasure after enjoying your delectable body all night?I ask telepathically, ensuring only she can hear me.
She smirks.Those were some wild dreams you spun for me.
Say the word, and they’ll become reality. Between the four of us, I’m sure we can give you anything you desire. And if the other three muck it up, I’ll enjoy watching you punish them.
Maven laughs out loud and slips away to enter the bathroom once Frost steps out.
I’m sorely tempted to follow her, but there’s a chance she’s tending to her business. So instead, out of boredom, I step into Limbo and follow Decimus as he gets dressed and leaves to find breakfast for our keeper.
The Decimus family is ridiculously large, what with all the siblings and their quintets, most of whom appear to be here for the holidays or to avoid the contention arising elsewhere. I don’t have an opinion on large families other than how fascinating it is that they make such huge portions of meals.
As someone who doesn’t consume food, I must say it’s baffling.
At first, it’s empty in the kitchen as Decimus dishes up a few heaping plates of leftover breakfast his family made earlier. But then Brigid strolls into the kitchen, smiling brightly at her youngest as she pours herself a large glass of orange juice.
“If you five want breakfast in bed, I can help carry plates,” she offers.
He hesitates. “Um?—”
“Unless you’re not all decent,” she adds teasingly. “The last thing I want is to see a bunch of naked asses running for cover—or anything else that will make me want to stab my remaining eye out.”
Decimus snorts. “I think I get my lack of filter from you.”
“You’re welcome.” Brigid watches him browse the selection of fruits. Her voice becomes uncharacteristically gentle. “I like her, you know. Maven. She seems tough. Like a strong mate.”
“You have no idea. She blows my mind all the fucking time.”
“She also seems haunted,” his mother adds.
Decimus is surprisingly fierce as he turns to face her, eyes blazing. “My mate’s life has been hell. Of course, she’s haunted. Now, are you going to keep beating around the bush, or are you going to tell me what the fuck you meant yesterday about wanting to meet her for a long time?”
Brigid grins. “That temper. Just like mine. If you really want to know, I was invited to sit in on a hearing with the Legacy Council about thirteen years ago. They wanted my help in determining the fate of a human?—”
“Amato?” he guesses, frowning.
She nods. “At the time, the council was facing backlash for rumors of arresting a human. They wanted strong supporters for public image and even tried to bribe me into voting in favor of the execution. I refused to have any part in it, but it made me curious. I looked into Pietro Amato and learned about the Reformist movement he started. And I learned he claimed to be trying to rescue his daughter back from the Nether. People called him crazy, including me…but I learned the truth too late.”
Brigid sips her orange juice. “Remitters show up at the Divide sometimes. Cause trouble with troops, kick up a shitstorm, whine. They want us to go back into the Nether. Pain in the ass, those humans. But the Reformists…they are a much smaller group, but they show up at the Divide sometimes, too. Most of them believe in Amato’s cause so much that they ask for my help to create change in the legacy government. They leave peacefully when asked, but others insist they had children taken through the Divide years ago and beg to be let into the Nether. You know why?”
“Why?” Decimus asks warily.
“Because they believe humans are living in the Nether. For years, I thought that was crazy talk. But not anymore.” She sets down her glass and regards him with all the severe intensity of a woman who has been through countless battles. “So, tell me. Was Maven the only human in the Nether?”
He tenses, protective of Maven’s secrets. “Mom?—”
“Baelfire, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Amato’s execution for years,” Brigid snaps, getting worked up as she shakes her head angrily. “Call it intuition or a guilty conscience or whatever you will, but when the dust settled, I justknewthat little girl I read about could still be in that damned hellhole. There’s no passing through the Divide, not if you want to come back out, so I was forced to live with that horrible thought. Butthen all these rumors started about thetelumarriving after a surge in Maine, and you were so tight-lipped about your match—and damn it, I don’t believe the bullshit about her being the end of times. Maven is here for a reason. I just want to know if it’s for the reason I think it is.”
